Pennypack Farm expands to Whitemarsh

From left, Pennypack Community Supported Agriculture members Keira Barnhart, Fiona Coyne and Brynn Barhart at the Highlands and Pennypack Farm open house Nov. 18. Photo provided by Administrative Director of Pennypack Margot Bradley.

WHITEMARSH — After two years of searching for an area to expand farming for the Pennypack Farm and Education Center, the organization has found a second home at the Highlands Historical Society in Whitemarsh Township. The second farm will be approximately 12 acres and offer 125 new share opportunities for the Community Supported Agriculture program.

“Farming is a historical use at the Highlands,” Administrative Director of Pennypack Margot Bradley said. “It’s a very exciting collaboration.”

The Highlands are part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which Bradley said was also very supportive of the new use.

“Historically, the Highlands was a working farm. At its largest, it was over 300 acres,” Highlands Historical Society Executive Director Meg Bleecker-Blades said. “It’s really restoring farms on the site. It’s bringing back the heart and soul of the property.”

Advertisement

The Highlands is a 44-acre historic property that includes a late 18th century Georgian mansion and a 2-acre formal garden.

In 1975 the Highlands Historical Society formed to preserve and restore the property to as close to its original form.

Bleeker-Blades said when the historical society first took over the property, much of the house had not been kept up and several of the outlying buildings were is disrepair. Since then, the historical society has worked to restore the mansion, the formal garden and many of the historical style buildings on the property, although Bleeker-Blades said there is much more to be done.

One of the restored buildings is a green house that was brought over from England, which the historical society restored several years ago. Bleecker-Blades said the green house was completely restored to its original condition, including the stone foundation and the attached metal structure. Since being restored, the green house has not been regularly used. However, Pennypack has plans to install a heating unit in the greenhouse and use it to grow plants throughout the year.

In addition, Pennypack also hopes to build a place for its CSA members to pick up their produce and an education center for children’s programs. Bradley said the farm will now be able to hold programs on-site for children of all ages, which would usually be done through a mobile classroom they would take to schools, day cares and camps.

The new farm will also allow Pennypack to start a nine-month farming apprenticeship with living facilities for anyone who wants to learn farming and become a farmer. Bradley said the hope is to eventually make it a two-year program.

Eventually, Bradley said the farm hopes to host its own camp for children and have small farm animals, such as chickens. However, she said the challenge will be having everything ready for planting in the spring so the CSA can start in late May. So far, of the total 510 CSA summer shares for both properties, she estimates 50 percent are already sold. However, she said any Highland member who wants to participate in the CSA will get put at the top of the waiting list and be able to participate this summer. Additionally, any of Pennypack’s CSA members who decide to pick up at the Highlands will automatically get a membership there.

Bradley and Bleecker-Blades said the hope is to get members from both organizations interested in local history and the way farming has progressed.

“ met in the middle and discovered there was a need on one side and a desire on the other,” Bleecker-Blades said. “We’re looking forward to this.”

“It’s going to wet appetites for local history,” Bradley said. “The state is excited about it, the Highlands is excited about it and we’re excited about it.”

Pennypack Farm and Education Center opened in 2003 to provide the community with locally grown, fresh and organic vegetables. It provides a sustainable Community Supported Agriculture program, which is when people and families buy into the farm and are provided with fresh local produce for the season they purchased a share for. Its two locations are now located at 685 Mann Road in Horsham and 7700 Sheaff Lane in Whitemarsh.

“Our members have been very curious and excited,” Bradley said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”